WEST SIDE STORY (2019 Revival) Preview Thread — Page 23

iluvtheatertrash said: "I’d heard from many people that Ben Cook was dreadful in the role. Is it possible there’s more to the story?"

He wasn't the most persuasive singer, but very very far from dreadful.

JBroadway said: "GreasedLightning said: "It is a heartbreaking shame for Ben to have to depart the show, but come on people. Someone literally lost their life over at Spiderman. Let’s not compare this to that. "

Common misconception fueled by the malicious exaggerations about Spider-Man. Not a single person died."

Someone in a Tree2 said: "When we saw Ben between Christmas and New Years, he was a thrilling performer with a uniquepowerful vibe onstage (and possibly the only blond guy upthere). Amazing dancer, excellent actor with a scary edge and a slightly higher speaking voice than you'd expect forRiff, whichmade his Riff really one of a kind.

And no, he was not the best singer onstage (his Jet Song was problematic), but he really nailed the notes in "Cool", so maybe his troublewith the first song was just nerves. I'm sad he won't be back in the show. He was a star in the making."

He still could be. Thanks to the Newsies proshot, he has become a decently-sized name in the Newsies fandom, to the point where it got a little out of control when he was in Mean Girls, to say the least.

orph3us said: "MollyJeanneMusic said: "Thanks to the Newsies proshot, he has become a decently-sized name in the Newsies fandom, to the point where it got a little out of control when he was in Mean Girls, to say the least."

When I saw Mean Girls, the girl next to me at the stage door asked every single cast member when he would be coming out until somebody, forgetting who,told her he would not be coming out and she screamed in his face and stormed off. The person then said ”and that's why...” quietly and returned to signing. I haven't checked Instagram but I hope there isn't is negativity against Ben’s replacement, and anger from fans in general. Wishing him the best"

Luckily, people haven't been like that this time. I couldn't find anything on Instagram, but on Twitter, underneath the BWW post, the formulaic response has basically been, "Feel better Ben, good luck Dharon, now fire Amar."

(I doubt the responses would tell Dharon to break a leg, for...pretty obvious reasons.)

Saw the 8pm 1/4 show. Initially I was nervous with the seating because I was in row D but I found the projections to be pristine and powerful. The entire rumble scene is thrilling, like others have noted while watching the rain was breathtaking but also left me somewhat uneasy for the actors on stage.

I found Ben Cook's Riff to be unique. As noted above his natural speaking voice is a bit higher than expected for this character but oddly it worked for me. Not the strongest singer in the world but I believe his dancing and overall presence on stage made up for that. Sad to hear he won't be continuing with the production.

In regard to crazy stage door fans... there was a young girl next to me at stage door who gushed over Cook and admitted she only saw this production because he was in it. She also explained to me that he was her favorite in Mean Girls which I found very odd. She proceeded to full on ball when he came out... to each their own I guess.

Updated On: 1/9/20 at 09:23 PM

ljay889 said: "Did anyone else notice that Powell took Tony out of his Instagram bio?"

He's still on the website though, unlike Ben Cook. I think he probably did it so people can't accuse him of false advertising that he's in the show while he's out.

If actors are being injured because of the rain, it should be cut. Better yet, the director and cheograpier should be forced to do the show 8 times a week.

GreasedLightning said: "Powell deleted his entire Instagram. The account is there, but it’s completely blank. No posts. No bio. I wouldn’t read too far into that. "

Not saying it means anything, but he still had Tony listed once he deleted everything. Now Tony is gone.